Chapter 361 - 258: Fortune Favors Fools (Part 2)

She could no longer hide her excitement. Without even tidying her slightly messy hair, she rushed forward to greet them.

The family reunion was too sentimental for outsiders, so the other nobles tactfully withdrew. Levi didn’t approach either.

Due to the sudden rebellion of the Mercenaries, the entire White Castle had descended into chaos. The Northern army arrived swiftly. The Panda Warriors dealt with the Southern Soldiers defending the city, opened the gates from the inside, and the army quickly fanned out to various parts of the White Castle to suppress the uprising.

"Andao, have you found Penny and the Little Duke?"

Levi spotted Count Andao in the crowd, walked over, and slung an arm around his shoulder.

He had personally rescued Liya’s mother and Fulina’s sister. A deed of this magnitude could likely only be matched by capturing Penny and her son alive, so the Lord was naturally in high spirits.

Andao’s expression as he looked at the Lion Hunter Knight was incredibly complicated.

It was as if the Northern Territory’s entire southern campaign had become a backdrop for Levi’s achievements. He was the one who had broken through Kalia Town. He was the one who had captured Cross, the famous general who had dealt the North a major defeat. And he was the one who had first breached the Kolon City Wall to rescue Duke Fulina’s sister!

In contrast, Andao considered his own side: Tess had been repulsed from Kalia Town in a sorry state, the assault on Black Stone Castle had been a massive loss, the Ice and Snow Mage Casting Corps had lost nearly half its members, and they had even lost two Counts.

If the man hadn’t adamantly refused to fully join the Holy Light Church, Andao would have almost believed the Lord of High Cliff Castle was the Holy Light Goddess’s own son.

Otherwise, it was just inexplicable. It was one thing for him to possess superb Holy Light Talent and immense strength, but why was his luck so ridiculously good too?

"I searched for a long time, but I had too few men and there were too many Mercenaries. The situation was absolute chaos, so I had to turn back," Andao said, sounding frustrated.

He had only brought a dozen or so of his personal Knights. It was fine on the outskirts, but as soon as they ventured deeper, they were surrounded by Mercenaries and those White-robed Iron Guards.

As an outsider whom neither side recognized, he would only end up being attacked by both. He couldn’t hold out, so he retreated.

Levi nodded in agreement. Not everyone possessed his level of strength. On his way through, he had eliminated at least several hundred Mercenaries and White-robed Iron Guards.

Levi glanced around but didn’t see Zat or Mier. He wasn’t too worried, though.

As one of the first men to follow him, Zat’s strength was a far cry from what it once was. If he truly ran into trouble, no one could stop him from escaping, especially in narrow corridors where his individual martial prowess could truly shine.

Mier also frequently trained in Swordsmanship with him. Thanks to his natural physique and the boons from the system, even Monvert wouldn’t be Mier’s match if he didn’t use his Combat Qi.

Once Levi found a suitable Combat Qi Secret Manual for him to train with, his strength would surely see a significant leap.

After entering the Inner Castle, the Northern Soldiers began a thorough sweep, including the rest of Kolon, arresting all Mercenaries and Southern Soldiers. The most loyal of the White-robed Iron Guard were sent to meet the Undead.

Only when not a single enemy could be found was Kolon finally declared to be completely under their control.

The flags of the Northern Territory were raised on the walls of Kolon and the Inner Castle. Under the watchful eyes of all, Fulina took down the Southern Territory Badge hanging in the White Castle’s great hall and replaced it with the "Eagle-Clutching Sword" of the North.

Onaya and Liya merely watched all of this in silence, so the Lord also maintained an air of detached indifference.

However, even though the Northern Territory had successfully captured Kolon and achieved its ultimate strategic objective, a heavy weight still lay on everyone’s mind.

Penny and the Little Duke had not been found. That’s right—not found in the literal sense, not even their bodies.

Everyone surmised that they certainly weren’t dead, but had hidden themselves somewhere.

Thus, Kolon remained under lockdown, with soldiers conducting a house-to-house search. However, a strict order had been issued forbidding them from harassing civilians.

How closely that order would be followed, however, remained to be seen.

None of this concerned the Lord, however.

First of all, his goal had always been to help Liya inherit the title of Duke and then reap the benefits.

Whether Penny had escaped or not, Liya becoming the new Duke was now a foregone conclusion.

The ones who should be worried were Fulina and her faction.

Besides, with all of Kolon under lockdown, there was no way for them to escape. Finding them was only a matter of time.

By the time everything was settled, the sun had sunk below the horizon, its fading light painting the sky a vast expanse of crimson.

Within Kolon City, the various armies marked out their respective encampments and began to light fires for their evening meal.

Because of Fulina’s strict orders, there were no incidents of soldiers assaulting the local women, but the livestock were not so fortunate.

They were herded by soldiers with Long Spears into open areas and slaughtered en masse.

Now that the battle was finally won, officers of all ranks prepared to celebrate and reward themselves for the past few months of hardship.

The men of High Cliff Castle were no exception, and wisps of cooking smoke soon rose from their camp.

The Lord, having been busy in the White Castle all day, was just about to get some proper rest. With the help of the Zor Elf, Heather, he was taking off his Leather Armor and tunic.

Unexpectedly, Zat found him, acting furtively, and led him to another room.

The room was filled with disused furniture that hadn’t been dusted in ages. The only thing out of place was a blonde woman slumped on the floor in the middle of it all. Her head was bowed, her hair was a mess, and she was clutching something to her chest. A rank smell of urine emanated from her.

"What the hell are you doing, bringing a woman into camp?!"

The Lord felt an urge to beat someone up. ’Is my frustration that obvious?’ he wondered, already preparing a righteous refusal and a stern lecture for this oaf.

"Shhh! Softer, Boss! If you ruin my reputation, how am I supposed to find a wife?" Zat, who was still a virgin, gestured for Levi to be quiet before quickly adding in an aggrieved tone, "This woman said her son is the Duke of the South, so I brought her back!"

"?"

After a quick explanation and a look at the woman’s face, Levi looked at the Beastman before him with an indescribable expression. Some people had tried everything, only to return empty-handed. Others had locked down the entire city and still couldn’t find a single hair of their quarry.

And then there was this guy, who just went to take a piss and stumbled upon a heaven-sent accomplishment.

No wonder so many people couldn’t find them. Who would dare search the camp of the Lion Hunter Knight, especially when he was enjoying so much prestige?

This simpleton might have been a bit dim-witted, but when his luck was in, it was as if pies fell from the sky for him to feast on.

And he was talking about Zat.

It explained how he had wandered through Debei without getting captured, castrated, and used as some sort of tonic by nobles with peculiar tastes, instead ending up in Kolon living a life free from worry about food and drink.

One had to admit, the saying "fortune favors the foolish" wasn’t just an expression.

"Lady Penny, do you still recognize me?"

Levi looked at the blonde woman slumped on the floor and asked his question. Clutching her terrified son, she glanced up, but there was no real reaction. Her eyes were vacant.

Most people couldn’t withstand such a drastic fall from grace. They couldn’t accept reality and would simply shut down for a while.

The Lord understood this well. Back in his days as a Mercenary, he had often come across villages plundered by bandits, and most of the lucky survivors were just like this.

He didn’t waste any more words. He ordered a Goat-man Maid to boil some water, wash the woman, and change her into a clean set of clothes.

Then, the Lord, whose seat had barely warmed since his return to camp, had to take two of his Beastman Guards and escort her to the White Castle.

As for how she would be dealt with, that was not for Levi to consider.

She likely wouldn’t be sent straight to the gallows; after all, she was the Old Duke’s own daughter, and Damon himself wasn’t dead, just held up in the White Bone Fortress.

She would most likely be used as a bargaining chip.

Naturally, this drew no small amount of overt jealousy from the other Northern Nobles. When so many accolades were heaped upon a single person, even those with the greatest self-control would inevitably feel a sense of imbalance.

Monvert quietly warned him that he was hogging the spotlight. Having claimed nearly all the glory for himself, he was like the bird that pokes its head up first and is sure to be shot.

He would surely be met with hostility from these nobles.

This was especially true since Liya had only two nobles under her command, making her faction obviously weaker than those of the other Northern Nobles.

The Lord just sneered and replied disdainfully, "A bird that pokes its head up gets shot. What if it’s a Giant Dragon?"

Besides, Liya and Onaya were no fools. They would surely take measures to keep the other nobles in check.